Greenway 420 Blog

California’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries open in 2018 after voters overwhelmingly approved full legalization with Proposition 64 at the end of 2016. But with the newfound dispensaries comes a lot more overhead for cultivators, dispensaries, and consumers.

While numbers haven’t been finalized, many cities and counties could impose heavy taxes on recreational weed, increasing prices by up to 70%. This would bump costs for an eighth from $35 to $50 or even $60, punishing the nascent marketplace with high usage fees.

Statistics show that the average consumer of marijuana spends approximately $750 a year on everyone’s favorite plant. Under such heavy taxation, that number would jump to over $1100 without an increase in quantity!

Thankfully, there remains a solution: many recreational users in California utilize cannabis for medical reasons, but aren’t taking advantage of the tax benefits they can receive right now and into 2018 by getting a medical marijuana recommendation.

While taxes will depend on specific cities and regions, medical marijuana users will see a far smaller increase in prices. For instance, in Los Angeles, medical marijuana users will not pay the 10% sales tax, and will see a 5% city tax, as opposed to a 10% city tax on recreational users. Medical marijuana patients are therefore paying a quarter in taxes than what recreational users will. In some cities, that cost savings will inevitably be higher.